Purpose

Note: This procedure reconfigures vCenter Server Heartbeat 6.3 Update 1 and later installed in a LAN environment where vCenter Server and SQL Server are protected but not installed on the same machine (remote SQL Server).

Resolution

Before starting this process, shutdown vCenter Server Heartbeat on both servers leaving the protected applications running.

On the Secondary Server:

Navigate to Start > AdministrativeTools > Services and set the Neverfail Server R2 service to Manual.

Open the Configure Server wizard, click the Public tab, and select Non-identical (Updates MS DNS).

Provide the Service Name for vCenter Server.

Note: This is typically the current name of vCenter Server.

In the NIC dropdown, select the Principal (Public) NIC.

In the Public IP dropdown, select the Principal (Public) IP address assigned to the Principal (Public) NIC.

In the first Mask field, enter the Subnet Mask of the Principal (Public) IP address.

In the Passive IP field, enter a reserved Management IP address for the Secondary server.

In the second Mask field, enter the Subnet Mask of the Management IP address.

Click Finish.

Right-click the Secondary server image and choose Edit Settings.

Disable the network adapters for both the VMware Channel and Principal (Public) NICs.

Navigate to the server’s System Properties, click the Computer Name tab, and click Change to rename the Primary server. When requested, restart the server.

On both the Primary and Secondary servers, navigate to Start > AdministrativeTools > Services and set the Neverfail Server R2 service to Automatic, and close the dialog.

After you complete the preceding steps, you must ensure that vCenter Server Heartbeat is configured correctly.

To check the vCenter Server Heartbeat configuration:

Before starting vCenter Server Heartbeat, verify the time synchronization between the Primary and Secondary servers. When a difference exists, synchronize the Secondary (passive) server to the Primary (active) server across the VMware Channel. To synchronize the time, run this command:

net time \\<Primary_Channel_IP_address> /set

Start vCenter Server Heartbeat on both Primary and Secondary servers.

Allow the Primary and Secondary servers to establish a handshake and commence replication.

Launch the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console and navigate to the Applications: Tasks page.

Note: If the user account under which you have installed vCenter Server Heartbeat is a member of the DomainAdmins group, Enterprise Admins group, or has been delegated Administrator rights, proceed to Step 4d.

Click User Accounts >Add.

Enter the credentials of a domain account that is a member of the Domain Admins group, Enterprise Admins group, or one that has been delegated Administrator rights and click OK.

When the account has been successfully added to the list, click Close.

Click Add to create a new task.

In the Add Task dialog, enter this name for the Name of the task:

DNSUpdate (Primary)

Choose Network configuration for the Task Type.

For Runs on, select Primary.

In the Command field, enter:

dnsconftool.exe –auto

From the Run As: dropdown, select an account with appropriate rights (the account previously added).